Just in case no one answers, I love the question. I am a geologist, not a biologist so I don't know what to do with living, "new" organisms but I look forward to answers. Would one look at dna? - If it had dna, of course. With only one animal, would we even be able to detect anomalies in the dna? Very interesting. More importantly, how would we know if it was an animal or a sentient being? We sent monkeys and dogs into space, maybe this was the aliens' way of testing our atmosphere and biosphere for compatibility. Maybe I should stay within the constraints of the question and assume an animal.

Sheila

"Alexanian, Moorad" <alexanian@uncw.edu> wrote:
I posed this query in another list and got no answer. I was wondering if
I could do better in this list.

"Suppose a flying saucer arrives to earth with a living animal in it.
The animal is quite distinct from anything we have ever seen on earth.
How can we tell whether that animal was the result of natural selection
that took place in a far away planet or that it was designed by the
aliens in that planet?"